BIG RAPIDS, Mich. – The Saginaw Valley State University football team fell 27-24 in a battle with top-ranked Ferris State on the road Saturday afternoon. The Cardinals (7-3, 4-2 GLIAC) held the lead twice in the losing effort.
"I thought we battled back in the second half. We had a chance there at the end," said head coach Ryan Brady. "To the seniors, from where we started five years ago to where we are now, this is how far we have come. We've come to the point now where we are playing for a chance to win a GLIAC championship in November. We did enough to win today, we just came up short.
Meijer Player of the Game Brandon Rawls had an interception, fumble recovery, and six tackles to lead the defense.
Mason McKenzie completed 11-for-24 passing for 187 yards and a touchdown pass. McKenzie also had 90 rushing yards with a score on the ground to lead SVSU in that category as well. Joseph Walker scored a touchdown and finished the game with three catches for 74 yards. Eric Craft also caught three McKenzie passes for 44 yards.
Micah Cretsinger finished with a game-high 12 tackles. It is the second time this season that the senior linebacker compiled double-digit tackles in a game. Eli Gordon had seven tackles and Mo Kamara and Carson Berenyi joined Rawls with six stops on the defensive side of the ball.
The Cardinals struck first when Walker took a pass from McKenzie 56 yards to finish a six-play, 85-yard drive to take a 7-0 lead with 8:50 left in the opening quarter.
The Bulldogs used a trick play for a 58-yard touchdown pass when Cam Underwood got a pass from Brady Rose to knot the game up with 2:34 on the clock.
Rodrigo Castaneda hit a 27-yard field goal in the second quarter to recapture the lead at 10-7 for SVSU. Trinidad Chambliss completed a 10-yard touchdown pass to James Gilbert and Ferris State flipped the advantage to 14-10 with 8:51 left in the first half.
McKenzie scampered for 36 yards that included a spin move through a defender inside the five-yard line for a touchdown and the Cardinals enjoyed another lead (17-14) at 7:41 in the second quarter. The run put a cap on a three-play, 40-yard drive. The final score of the half came in the closing minute when Chambliss recorded a four-yard touchdown run that gave the Bulldogs a 20-17 lead as the teams entered the locker room at the break.
Ferris State took a two-score lead at the 8:58 mark of the third quarter on a seven-yard touchdown run from Rose.
The Cardinals responded with a seven-play, 34-yard drive that was finished by Brady Devereaux on a two-yard touchdown play. It is the fourth touchdown of the season for the SVSU linebacker.
Saginaw Valley State had a chance to tie the game with 4:49 left in the game, but Castaneda's 43-yard field goal attempt went wide right and the score remained at 27-24. A pass interference call extended the next Ferris drive and the Bulldogs ran out the clock to end the game.
UP NEXT: The Cardinals wrap up the regular season next week with a home game against Michigan Tech on Saturday, November 16 at 1: p.m. (ET).
